Study Tools

Little Women

Louisa May Alcott

Chapters 39–47

Key Facts

1.

I’ll
try and be what he loves to call me, “a little woman,” and not be
rough and wild; but do my duty here instead of wanting to be somewhere
else.

Jo speaks these words in Chapter 1 after
hearing the letter from Mr. March, who is serving in the Civil War.
Jo says that she would like to be doing something exciting, such
as being in the Civil War like her father, instead of sitting at
home. Jo points out that women cannot fight in the Civil War, and
generally lead less adventurous lives than do men. In this statement,
Jo also demonstrates a wish to make her father happy by acting stereotypically
female. Jo struggles throughout the novel because she wants both
to lead an adventurous, independent life and to help and please
her family. In other words, the struggle for individual success
conflicts with the duty and affection she feels for her family and
with the domestic sphere that most women of the time accept.

Mr. March’s letter comes immediately after all the March
girls say that they want more out of life than what they have. After
hearing his letter, they each decide to be content with what they
have, demonstrating that the renunciation of their material dreams
is learned, rather than natural, behavior.

2.

I
am angry nearly every day of my life.

Marmee makes this statement in Chapter 8 when
she tells Jo that she too struggles with a quick temper. Throughout
the novel, however, Marmee seems serene and composed, which suggests
that the appearance of a docile woman may hide turmoil underneath. Marmee’s
admission makes Jo feel better, because she realizes that she is
not the only one with a temper. At the same time, though, Marmee’s
words suggest that there is no hope for Jo—Marmee is still angry
after forty years, and perhaps Jo will be too. Many feminist critics
have noted this sentence as an expression of anger about nineteenth-century
society’s demand that women be domestic.

3.

Money
is a needful and precious thing,—and, when well used, a noble thing,—but
I never want you to think it is the first or only prize to strive
for. I’d rather see you poor men’s wives, if you were happy, beloved,
contented, than queens on thrones, without self- respect and peace.

Marmee speaks these words in Chapter 9, after
Meg has returned from a two-week stay at the Moffats’ home. Marmee
tells Meg that she does not want any of her daughters to marry for
material comforts, as was suggested by a guest at the Gardiners’.
At a moment in history when women’s futures hinged solely on their
choice of a husband, Marmee’s statement is very compassionate and
unusual. After all, the other guests at the party easily assume
that Meg must be intending to marry for money.

Alcott does not completely sanction Marmee’s statement. Little Women depicts
marrying poor as a serious burden for a nineteenth-century woman
to bear. One should not marry for money, but at the same time, quarrels
and stress come about from marrying a poor man. Alcott does not
depict romantic love without mentioning the practical reality of
living with little money. The daughter of an improvident father,
she knew firsthand the worry of having to depend on someone else
for a living.

4.

I’d
have a stable full of Arabian steeds, rooms piled with books, and
I’d write out of a magic inkstand, so that my works should be as
famous as Laurie’s music. I want to do something splendid before
I go into my castle—something heroic, or wonderful—that won’t be
forgotten after I’m dead. I don’t know what, but I’m on the watch
for it, and mean to astonish you all, some day. I think I shall
write books, and get rich and famous; that would suit me, so that is
my favorite dream.

Jo speaks these words in Chapter 13 when
the March girls and Laurie are discussing their dreams. In contrast
to the typical dreams of her sisters, Jo’s dream is startlingly
big and confidently expressed. The horses Jo wants, and with which
she is constantly compared, represent the wild freedom for which
she yearns. Significantly, Jo does not mention a husband or children
in her dream, but says she wants books and ink. This powerful statement
reaches well beyond the confines of a woman’s small living room
and demands lasting fame and independence in a man’s world. Jo’s
sentences are very direct and begin commandingly with the word “I.”

Jo also mentions the desire to have her work equal Laurie’s.
The pursuit of an art is represented as an idyllic field in which
men’s and women’s work are considered equal. Also, Jo aligns going
into a castle—getting married and having a house—with dying, for
she wants to do something great before either event happens to her.

5.

Oh,
my girls, however long you may live, I never can wish you a greater
happiness than this!

These words from Marmee conclude the
novel, at the end of Chapter 47, and also
sum up the novel’s message. Through the four March sisters, Alcott
presents many possible ways a woman can walk through life. Both
the novel and Marmee finally decide that women must make some sacrifices
for their families, in order to have the happiest life possible.
Perhaps Alcott sometimes wished her life had turned out more traditionally
and that she had married and had children. This ending is ambiguous
at best, however, since the novel has called traditional values
into question throughout.